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INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION ASSEMBLY GETS UNDER WAY

Almost 15 years after talk of an American Space Station with international participation, after tons of paper studies and countless redesigns it will finally happen: On 20 November this year, the first element of the International Space Station - the Functional Cargo Block (FGB) -will be launched into space from the Russian Space Flight Centre Baikonur with the help of a Proton rocket. Almost two weeks later the second module - Node 1 - is supposed to follow, going into orbit from Cape Kennedy with the Space Shuttle Endeavour. This module has six docking ports for future station elements.

What must be mankind's biggest adventure in international technological co-operation will begin with the start of the FGB. As well as the Americans, the Russians, the Europeans and the Japanese are participating. Each of these partners is docking one laboratory onto the station. The Canadians are constructing a Manipulator, a huge crane for work on the station.

Originally the construction of the International Space Station (ISS) was planned for April 1997. However, it had to be postponed a few times because the Russians, who had been asked to join by the Americans after the Soviet Union came to an end, ran out of the money needed to build their station elements.

The first element, the FGB, was built by the Russians on behalf of Boeing with US financing. The second, Node 1, was constructed by Boeing. However, the Russian company Energija built the third element, the so-called Service-Module, which is vital for the initial phase of the station, with Russian state financing.

Unfortunately the completion of this module was delayed for months, because the Russian Government did not come up with the money. These delays are blamed for the fact that the building of the station was being put off. Because the Service Module plays an important role in the initial phase of the station: It must dock with the first two elements no longer than 400 days after the launch. Without the position regulation and engines systems of the Service Module the station would drift out of control in space.

The Service Module resembles the central element of the Russian Mir-Station. Not only the position control and engine systems for the station are situated here but the first astronauts will also live in the Service Module. During the course of the further construction of the station the systems of the Russian Service Module will be replaced by American systems.

The latest plans are that the Service Module will launch next summer, or at the latest in autumn of 1999. Since the fall of the Iron Curtain the Russian spaceflight industry and the Russian elements of the Space Station have depended on American Dollar transfers. Nasa has paid almost $500 million to send American astronauts to the Mir-Station. The FGB cost $210 million. According to the US Senator James Sensenbrenner the Russian delays have cost the American taxpayer another $1.2 million.

Nasa has asked for another $600 million to help the Russians out of their financial embarrassment. In exchange they want to buy hardware like the Sojus-Rescue Capsules. In a first drastic step the Russian Space Flight Authority (RKA) has sold its entire laboratory capacity on the Space Station to Nasa for $60 million. This renders the Russians nothing more than suppliers of station elements. There will not be enough money left, at least during the initial phase, for use and scientific experiments.

However, Russian suppliers' chronic shortage of money is not the only risk. The technical feat is also immense: At least 45 flights of Russian rockets and American shuttles will be necessary to take all the station elements into orbit. Even the smallest breakdown can lead to delays, the length of which cannot be estimated. While the station is being constructed Russian and American astronauts will, according to the latest estimations, spend over 1,700 hours floating in space, assembling and maintaining station elements. These EVAs (Extravehicular Activities) are amongst the riskiest types of work in space, especially since considerable meteor activity, so-called Leonid Storms, has been forecast for November 1999 and November 2000. While these Leonid Storms are taking place EVAs are life- threatening.

However, according to today's plans all difficulties will have been overcome towards the end of 2004, and the station will start operating. The first crew will live on the station as early as January 2000, if the Sojus Rescue Capsules have docked with the station.

From 2004 up to seven astronauts will be able to work simultaneously on the station. Then the first astronauts of the relevant countries, which have supplied their own elements to the station, will be able to do research on the station. These are the Europeans, Canadians and Japanese.

The completed station will be enormous: It will be 108.4 meters long and 74 meters wide. Its volume will be 1,200 cubic meters and it will weigh 419 tons. Its orbit will be between an altitude of 370 and 460km. Since itsorbit will be lowered by gravity effects, a re-boost will be necessary up to four times a year to lift it again into its proper orbit. This re-boost will be carried out with the help of the Russian Progress, although the European Space Agency (ESA) is currently developing its own device, the ATV (Ariane Transfer Vehicle). The ATV will be launched into space with Ariane and is able to transport materials and fuel to the station. It is also intended to be used for re-boosts.

The ATV is one of the most important European contributions to the International Space Station. However, the biggest is the Research Laboratory COF (Columbus Orbital Facility), which is 6 meters long and 4.5 meters in diameter. Ten payload racks are intended for scientific experiments, three further ones will serve as storage space. The payload racks are standardised and can be exchanged with those used for American and Japanese laboratory elements. Early in 2003 Columbus is intended to dock with the ISS.

The European Space Agency is putting up $3.46 billion between 1996 and 2004. The COF alone will cost $750 million. It is too difficult to predict the final cost of the station, because there are still to many unknowns. In 1993 US-President Bill Clinton was displeased with the sum of $17.4 billion. However, in the middle of this year the Space Flight Specialist Jay Chabrow had the US Congress know that it will be at least $10 billion more expensive. No one knows what the running of the station will cost during the ten years it will be in use.

From page 36 of FLUG REVUE 12/98